Call Number:

00.001

Repository:

Drexel University Archives

Extent:

0.16 cubic feet (19 photographs)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Virginia Carter Castleman photograph collection, Drexel University Archives.

Date:

1898-1899 (inclusive)

Creator:

Castleman, Virginia Carter

Form:

University of Pennsylvania -- Buildings -- Pictorial works, Photographs, and Black-and-white photographs

Abstract:

This collection consists of nineteen photographs showing aspects of student life at Drexel in 1898-1899.

Virginia Carter Castleman, an 1899 graduate of Drexel's library school, was born in Herndon, Virginia, in 1864. Her mother established the Herndon Seminary for Girls in her residence around 1870. Her father was an Episcopal clergyman. Prior to her time at Drexel, Ms. Castleman attended the Edgeworth Institute in Baltimore. While attending Drexel in 1898 and 1899, she wrote the Drexel Ode. After graduation she worked as a book cataloger at the University of Pennsylvania, then as an instructor in Washington, D.C., and Boise, Idaho. At some point after 1904, Ms. Castleman returned to her hometown in Virginia. Along with her sisters, she formed a library association and eventually established a lending library for Herndon. During her life, Virginia Castleman published a number of books including works of fiction, poetry and children's books. She also published the reminiscences of Kitty Kitchen, a Herndon resident whose husband fought for the Union during the Civil War. Virginia Carter Castleman died in Herndon in 1937.

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=E_IKCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=Virginia+Carter+Castleman+herndon&source=bl&ots=2qKCOmw9pb&sig=DWPLeKl3wTHIIKXp3a6jmEt-zl0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiBib6nk6_MAhUD5CYKHZ5aBv8Q6AEINTAH#v=onepage&q=Virginia%20Carter%20Castleman%20herndon&f=false

This collection consists of nineteen photographs showing many aspects of student life at Drexel in 1898-1899. It includes interior shots of the Main Building, the library in the Main Building, student boarding facilities, the Drexel Museum, the exterior of Boarding House Row, and University of Pennsylvania buildings. The photographs show library employees and students at work, Drexel president James MacAlister in his office, and art students painting in a studio. Also included with the collection is one folder of research notes compiled for an exhibit in 2005. The captions written on the photograph enclosures were not written by Castleman but rather were added later (possibly by Drexel library staff).